first u.s. vice-presidential debate was only 36 years ago in 1976. it pitted walter mondale against bob doel. the first ever general election presidential debate was 16 years earlier than that the famous or infamous kennedy versus nixon televised matchup. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i will see you next week. stay tuned for "reliable sources." \ . i've covered joe biden for a long time. for some conservative commentators, biden's smiling and smirking was practically the only issue. >> i thought it with us unattractive, i thought it was rude and i have a feeling it will come across to an awful lot of people as rude. he looked like a cranky old man,

to some extent debating a polite young man. >> we leelk at how abc's martha raddatz handle hersd and we'll talk with the moderator of this quadriplegic's presidential debate, candy crowley. mitt romney changed his feeling and people are wondering if he's moving to the middle. author buzz bissinger is voting for obama. he'll be here. plus how did the presidential campaign come to fixate on this towering figure? >> i feel like i'm famous now. i was walking down the street and i felt like everybody recognized me. >> says mem street and elmo and cookie monster fight back. i'm howard kurtz and this is "reliable sources."

there were heated clashes over the issues and joe biden and paul ryan squared off in kentucky but by a strange coy ens dense that was not the focus of much of the media. instead it was the mirkt and mockery by the vice president of the united states. >> when we look weak, our adversaries are much more willing to test us. >> with all due respect that's a bunch of malarky. >> on an obama administration. >> mr. bide snoon that's incredible. >> jack kennedy. >> now you're jack kennedy. >> i think the vice president very well knows sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. i know you're under a lot of duress to make up for a lost round. >> the fox news crowd could hardly contain its distaste to biden's performance. >> i don't believe i have ever seen a debate in which one participant was as openly

disrespectful of the other as biden was to paul ryan tonight. >> it was so disrespectable i agree with chris wallace. it was sort of almost unprecedented and hugely condescending. >> on msnbc where the gang was so depressed over president obama's lackluster outing the mood was downright celebratory. >> this was joe bide and he gave president obama's campaign a much needed victory. >> it was a man against a boy. >> so how did the media fall in analyzing and could we be possibly exaggerating its importance. joing me now kelly goff politil correspondent for the root.com. and steve watkins, president of public affairs after george washington university and david frum, a cnn contributor and contributing editor for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." theatrics have been a part of politics fover but they seemed

fixated on the laugh tur and body language. >> as you say theatrics are important. we remember moments when al gore sighed and george bush looking at his watch. because television is so great it does have an effect, but these were republican talking points before the debate was over. every republican strategist, every republican commentator got the same memo which was -- with the same words which was call him childish, call him immature. so they've been driving and there's been an ad out tonight or today mimicking that as well. >> from paul ryan who hadn't been in this national spotlight held his own and that's been overshadowed by the come men tai. >> he held his own and martha raddatz also drove a point. one of the media stories that came out of this debate is the way in which it had been a washington story. his reporting of the untruth of the administration's benghazi

narrative burst from inside the beltway to arrive at a national debate. and joe biden was forced to say things that are almost not true and had to be redefined when it's now explained that joe biden said we didn't know he meant the white house didn't know, not the entire administration. so that's raising the question does the buck stop at the state department. >> you know, kelly goff, maybe pundits are just like ordinary people in the sense that if you don't like joe biden you find him overbearing, over the top, them you found him rude and offensive and if you liked the guy you were cheering for him as he was trying to slam dunk congressman ryan. >> i think there is a bit of. i will say i did tweet while watching the debate and asked were there any other viewers who were somewhat uncomfortable with his pointing which we know is for emphasis but we know is a little bit road. i will say this. i did mention this in my colom,

when you have a man doing it toward a woman it looks a little mena menacing. they call him smilin' joe biden. he's quite the pin-up for women of a certain age you'd be surprised to know. >> thanks for the breaking news. on the tax cut where they challenged biden. on med i karks frankly i have to ask where is the press on that. there's been some substantive coverage but it hasn't been the main theme. >> you're right about that and i think biden in that sense made a mistake because he gave his opponent as chance to focus on the theatrics and not the substance. take one very good example where he skewer ryan on the question of the stimulus where ryan as a congressional representative

from gainesville had twice asked for money from the constituencies. that kind of story has gotten buried in all of the talk about the theatrics. so the democrats are cheering biden, but he made a mistake by giving his opponent a chance to focus on the theatrics. >> is there so much media attention on his smiling and smurking aside in part because prot did so poorly in that first debate. >> yes. and of the particular way that president did badly. if you follow the theory, this is a visual contest, that what biden did to ryan, maybe he didn't make sense, maybe he told some lies but what he did do is go on the stage and prove he was the king gorilla, dumped on the other guy and threw him around. in the previous debate, romney had been the king gorilla and since we're more concerned about kimg and vice king, the fact that he failed to hold his own i

think is a very concerning thing to democrats because it doesn't just go to the president's, you know, was he asleep, was he tired. it goes to was he forceful enough to be a command ore of a nation. go ahead, kelly. >> i was also going to say, also, howard, part of this is with the perception about biden is one of the reasons we're more obsessed with him perhaps than other vice presidents is because i rarely hear of any person in the media who says i want a particular person to win a debate. what i hear is we want a memorable moment, something we can analyze and obsessor about it. joe biden is the gift that keeps on giving or gift as in g-i-f. he's gaffe machine and we love that. we in the media ve that. that's part of the coverage here. >> very briefly are we a little caught up in the v.p. debate? it's not going to necessarily

affect? >> fabulous material for "saturday night live," fabulous stuff for us to cover but in terms of the big picture, no, it's not as important of what's going on in libya, howard. nood another story they've been reporting on has been under cover. mitt romney moving to the middle. it's been talked about on cable and politico had a big piece, but this whole question of whether romney is shifting his positions, let's take a look at chatter on the air. >> tonight mitt romney is trying to teach republicans dwhoenlt believe in evolution to believe in the evolution of mitt romney. >> it's not clear to me that letting mitt be mitt mean anything, that there is a real and authentic mitt. he changes his positions the way you and i change neckties. >> there's nothing there there. what romney is saying i have an agenda on abortion and here are

what my positions are. there's no contradiction. >> whether we're talking about obama care, tax cuts to the wealthy, abortion, which i'll get to in a moment it's pretty clear that mitt romney at least in tone and female sis has changed from the rim romney we saw in the primaries. why has this not been at the top of the media agenda? this goes to the heart of not laugh and smirking but what kind of president you'll be. >> it's harder to konk. as keli was saying, biden and big berd, it's easy to create a name about somebody who's smiling. you can't talk 140 charactering on twitter about the complexities of -- >> if it's too complicated for twitter we take a pass? >> i think that's part of the problem with coverage these days but i agree with you. we should have more. there's a very good example. romney tried to move the middle by implying he would preserve an

op on program of allowing young people to stay in america who otherwise might be depoted but he had to skitter back because the right got upset with the program. i think there needs to be a lot more on the media. >> hold on, keli. i'll get you in on the other end. i want to play for our viewers romney being asked the other day by "the des moines register" editorial his position on abortion. >> do you intend to pursue any legislation regarding abortion? >> there's no -- >> they would create greater expectations for life. how do you cover that one?

>> the way you cover it and this is the way that it's true which is what we're seeing here is the most important struggle of 2013 should romney win which is the struggle between candidate romney and president romney. president romney and the man who think about being president is a highly responsible person. he said i want to keep tax rates where they are. mitt romney says it makes no sense. it doesn't work that way. and he's saying i don't intend to do it so it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense. that's really what -- that was president romney speaking in detroit and then there's this giant apparatus who will say, o, no, he'll ban it and come to people's house and track them

down. >> ordinarily, keli, when there's a clear difference of what a candidate say, coming out of his own mouth and not the campaign, the press is all over that. i have seen less of that the last few weeks. >> i totally agree. i would thing it's kind of a gotcha or flip-flop fatigue in that 20 years ago. people weren't recording every candidate rally, every candidate fund-raiser, every candidate meet and greet, every candidate barbecue on the cell phone so couldn't hear everything that came out of their mouths. 20 years ago if a celebrity lied about getting plastic surgery, it was a front page story and today we assume most of them do and so you sort of have to catch a public figure in a big lie to get serious coverage. that's just my humble opinion. >> i want to do a lightning round here. there was a feature of joe

biden's notes. usually we don't show that. any problem with that? >> if he brings them on camera and brings them to the set, we show them. >> "time" magazine had a piece showing paul ryan in his workout gear and backwards cap but he had posed for this before he was vice president. it was trying to make him lookt foolish. >> youth and vigor. >> and for the obama candidacy. everybody wants the pictures that show him young and vick russ. >> president obama will be making his second appearance on "the daily show" this week. we talked about the difficulty of covering complicated issues. keli goff does it show it's more important to go on tv and be funny? >> in a word, yes. >> i asked for a short answer from anyone. >> maybe he should go on "sesame

street." just throwing that out there as an idea. woitd get lots of coverage. >> these shows are very important because the adage is find viewers and voters where they are. >> right. >> and they're on these tv shows, they're on" "the view" not necessarily cnn. >> twitter shows more and more people are watching the debate and commenting at the same time. you've seen this with your classes? i've seen it very much so. that means a lot of people are going to be watching the daily show and then they're going to be twittering their friends who are going to get information from each other. young people believe one source more than others. that's people like them. >> it's too late for president obama to do mobilization. >> stephen colbert was on "meet the press." a fake anchor on a real news show. he explained his curmudgekermug

character this way. >> i don't watch the news so much. >> do you. >> i come in and say the exact opposite of what rachel maddow said the night before. >> how sez that. should we tar and feather him for putting big bird at the center of this campaign. to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves -- being my mom. [ male announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. from doing what she loves -- being my mom. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources

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i thought i audio seen it all in terms of unusual topics from gennifer flowers to joe the plumber but now there's a controversy growing out of mitt romney's debate that even kids can recognize. >> could mitt romney really fire big bird? just the thought of it has pbs fans all fired up. >> a big question on big bird? >> big bird is going to be just fine. >> america is in dire financial shape and what have we got, the president talking about big bird and calling his opponent a liar. >> this is a serious issue here

that mitt romney said he would end the federal subsidy to pbs. >> this is a rerun that happens in the 1990s. the core problem that republicans face when we talk about the budget is that budget cuts hurt and when you need to do it, there's going to be pain and if you're going to mobilize people you have to give them some warning about what's to come. the beauty is there is this successful enterprise embedded within pbs. they would d just fine. they have merchandising rights. it begs the question of what is going happen to medicaid. >> i think the media is having so much fun with it and the "sesame street" workshop is asking that the obama campaign

pull the ad. >> such a fun show and not letting any of us have any fun in the media, right, howard? come on. look. you know a story has officially reached media saturation howard when you have article ts about the number of art calls about the numb beer of sexy big bird costumes we're all going to be seeing come halloween so i think it's official that we dumped the shark on this. let me say this. i'm a big believer in giving readers a slice of vegetables with their media. i will say this. one of my most widely red are storiesen the contraception debate was the kardashian mom putting her girls on the pill when they were teenagers. >> as david says, it's an important point here. it's hard to impact the price of budget cuts and people are hip

oh critical on the federal government. they say get them off my back and out of my pocket until there's a cut that affects them so the critics can seize on big bird and say here's an example. the trivialization. you can create a name but you can't talk about medicare in 140 characters so there -- >> there have also been complaints have various networks about andrea mitchells and bob schieffer being used. is that fair or -- >> i think networks try so hard to make brands out of their individual people they market them as historical features, then they can't complain when their celebrity and data is used against them.

>> last word, david frum, kelly goff. >> my two cents on martha rad atsz. many discounts to thine customers! safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy saveth! what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners' discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now, that's progressive. bp has paid overthe people of bp twenty-threeitment to the gulf. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs

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fascinating choice as moderator and here's why. she's not an anchor used to popping off on the air. she's a correspondent who's mad her name in the field covering the white house and dozens of trips to iran and afghanistan and, boy, did that experience show when she was questioning joe biden and paul ryan. >> i have talked to a lot of troops and senior offers who were concerned that the surge troops were pulled out during the fighting season and some of them saw it as a political move. >> i think about the incredible job that our troops have done. you've been there more than the two of us combined. >> the moderator also prodded the contenders to be a bit more reflective. >> we have two catholic candidates, first time on a stage such as this, and i would like to ask you both to tell me

what role your religion has played in your own personal views on abortion. >> raddatz talked about her challenge the next morning saying she had a lot of follow-up questions written down. >> when you're there and you're there in the moment you really have to go with what's happening. so when they were talking to each other, when they were going at each other, you want to extort of step back from that and then when i'd hear things i'd think, oh, i've got to jump in there. >> and jump in she did, reining in both candidates. >> quickly, i want to move on here to medicare and entitlements, think we've gone over this quite enough. >> moderating is a tough job and despite some carving from paul ryan candidates, it seems that martha was fair to both candidates. it's because she's a tough journalist. ahead, the woman who will be

posti posing the questions at the next debate. candy crowley joins us. nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! [ male announcer ] try new alka-seltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms plus sinus congestion and pain.

if there's one moment that

shines a light it's the debates. it's two nights away at hofstra university and cnn's candy crowley will be hosting. you join me now. you haven't exactly hidtown fact that it's a lot of pressure. >> it is a lot of pressure, but in the end, i mean i know that we spend a lot of time on the moderator and what are they going do and then afterward whenever thinks they lost kind of blames this on the moderator. both martha did this and jim did, it's not about me. that's when i -- i go, well, what if -- it's not about many, it's not about me. it's about these two guys. these are organic things. you can't go in thinking you will definitely do this. it's like parenting, you know. you decide you're never, ever going to do something and you end up doing it or you've got this battle plan and the battle changes and you have to be able to move with it.

so i think -- you plan for everything and anything and then you let it take its own course. >> you mentioned martha raddatz and she got a lot of praise, i think, for tightly reining in the kaechblts, moving on when she wanted to move on. you've moderated debates before. >> i have and it's difficult. ly say part of what helped martha and it definite will is more in her wheelhouse because she's wants to get answered and move on to the next thing, and that's what you do as a reporter. you can't have a lengthy -- hey, let's talk about. this think part of it was her experience as a reporter but it helps when they're sitting a i cross the table from you. you and i know it's so much easier to talk to somebody who's here because through your body language and everything else you can tell i'm getting close to done. when you're up at a big lectern, you're a mile and a half away. >> exactly. i was in the room with the jim

lehrer debate. not only was he a mile away but he was down. that kind of thing does matter and also it's a presidential debate and it's a little bit tougher to say to the president, would you be quiet for a minute. >> yeah, would you zip it. >> there's a way to do these things. >> are you buried in blue cards, up late making all kinds of notes? >> i have them in every place in my house. the truthcy'll only need 1% of what's going in here. you have to get 100% and hope -- things are going to slip past you. i have to guest past this. i bet you do this too. there's never a show that goes by or a piece that i write that i don't look back and say, oh, i should have done this. >> or i could have jumped in here. but you don't want to jump in so much you interrupt the flow. it's not a show. it's a presidential debate and this one is going to have the town hall format so questions from the audience. does that make your job more

challenging where you have to think about do you follow up with somebody who gives an evasive answer? >> absolutely. i think it's both. it's very easy for politicians to run over a member of the news media. there's no penalty for that. it's very difficult if i go but mr. president she asked about oranges and you answered with apples. wonder if you could answer her question. that's harder. yes, with flop-up you drill down more on the subject or say it wasn't this or that. so i think it helps in that way. gives you like a posse in some ways and it's not just you. doesn't feel like it's just a member of the media. they're actual voters but there's more moving parts and any time i'm not in control, you know, that to me feels like a more difficult situation. >> but briefly, you'll know in advance what these audience members are going to ask? >> yes, yes. yes. so we'll have seen the

questions. we'll have selected which ones we think will push it toward new information, sort of expanding out other subjects that they've touched. >> going to get a good night's sleep before? >> i hope. i hope. it's also not something under my control. you know how you lie awake thinking what about this, what about that. >> right. briefly ads we wrap it up here, whichever side is seen as losing they'll also dump on moderator and everybody on twitter. everyone has an opinion. i'm sure you'll have a thick skin. >> i think that -- i think you're born with a thick skin or you're not. it's very hard to get used to it. i am aware of it but you can't be driven by it. you either -- you know, as a journalist you get batted around regardless, and i think it's good to know, but it's also not something that can drive what you do. you have to do what do you and just take what happens. >> comes with the territory. >> yeah. >> candy crowley, we'll look

forward to seeing you tuesday night and hope we have a chance to talk with you. we have a little bit of breaking news to deal with having to do with the record-breaking sky-dive plan shr shortly and cnn's brian todd has that story. brian. >> reporter: howard, the red bull stratus launch of the balloon and capsule that will take felix baumgartner up to 120,000 feet above the earth did launch about nine minutes ago and he is now ascending in his balloon. you may be able to see a live feed of it there. he's now a little past 17,000 -- excuse me, 12,000 feet above the surface of the earth right now. he'll get to 120,000 feet. lit take him about 2 1/2 to 3,000 feet so we project he'll make his jump between approximately 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 eastern. once he gets to that he has to do several checks and other things but he's on the ascent

now toward the point where he will attempt the record-breaking free fall from 120,000 feet above the surface of the earth. he'll also, of course, try to become the first person outside of a space vehicle to break the sound barrier, free falling at 390-plus-miles an hour. >> is the reason there's so much mia atnti media attention because it's pretty rif yk? >> absolutely. once he gets up there, that's when the risks will occur. but the first 30 minutes are the most dangerous. he could go into a flat spin. the suit could become breached. if anything happened, a lot of things could happen. his blood could boil, things you don't want to think about. the first minute of this jump is going to be the most dangerous. >> okay. is there a delay in terms of the pictures that we're seeing? >> well, the pictures that we're

seeing, i think, is realtime. if you're seeing the altitude there at 14, 900 some feet, that should be in realtime. that's a live feed that red bull is sending to some of the broad casters in the united states and elsewhere. he's askrenlded past 15,000 feet and it looks like a pretty rapid ascent. once the balloon got off the ground -- >> this reminds me of the fox car chase. we hope the cable chainle who are take this live are aware if there's bad news. buzzes by injer is on deck. . okay. see? walmart has all these leading eyewear brands and styles. rockstar! really? yeah. oh, wow! oh, black frame looks good on you. yeah? you can get a complete pair starting at just -- $38. really?! and did you know that our glasses come with a free 12-month replacement guarantee?

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. as we mention bfrd the break, felix bottaumgartner has attempted his ascent. this could end badly. cnn is going dove this. we're not going to cover this realtime. there will be a delay. turning now to our segment buzz bissinger best known as a sports writer. boy, did he kick up a political storm by announcing in "the

daily beast" he'll vote for mitt romney. even his wife lost it. what's really telling is what happened next. over twitter, getting all kiepsd of abuse. buzz, welcome. >> thank you, howie. i think at this point i feel i was up in the space capsule with that guy. i think i should be or at least the witness protection program given the reaction. hundreds of thousands of comments. >> we'll obscure -- you say in the daily beast you're a live lom democrat and you're voting for romney and you got sashaged. tell us. >> i would say between "the daily beast" comments, twitter comments, facebook comments i would say roughly 4,000 comments i ran about 6-1 against and it wasn't just -- i agree with you

it was the "f" word and baby killer. it was, how dare you, you're trarkts mine you're a writer, you're a journalist, how can you possibly come out in favor of this man, although the column -- you could feel the anguish, the sense of perhaps traitorship. i am a life-long democrat. >> when your friends, many of them journalist, say you're traitor and they're coming down on you for, you know, going through an honest assessment of who you think would be the best president in the next four years. >> what it says to me there's no doubt in my mind there's a definite liberal bias in the media. you take out fox and msnbc which is staked at the rit and the left, there is a liberal bias. you are simply not expected when you're a journalist and a writer to endorse a republican. and don't tell me it does not seep into the courage.

you look at "the new york times." the editorial today on afghanistan, you would feel it's the republicans' fault we're still there but that's obama's decision. it does seep in. i know because as a journalist it seeped what i wrote for "the philadelphia inquirer." it was shocking -- not shocking it it confirmed things to me. >> there you're painting with a broad brush. you said when i was a reporter my own personal feelings seeped in and you're making the assumption for everyone. wolf blitzer, candy crowley, chuck todd, i don't know what they think about politics. i think their fair to both sides whatever their personal view is. it just seems to me that everybody in the media goes to the left and it shows in their work. >> listen, i tend to paint with a broad brush, i know that. but look at the coverage of the drone attacks by obama.

i guarantee you whoever it is, if it was a republican president, reporters would be all over that story. as it us, there was a public ombudsman story? in "new york times." david rhodes kidnapped by the taliban who now writes for reuters has said the same thing oop. certain reporters try to go down the middle. even then i still thing it can be subtle or not subtle. i think there is a liberal bias. now, granted, i'm judging, you know, in friends but they were outlajed. it was how dare you, how can you support republican and granted some journalists may be better at hiding it than others. >> and you say of these friends, buzz bissinger, most were offended and outraged to the point where my relationship with them will never be the same again again and think this is a

mute yufl feeling so i think this is damaging some of your personal relationships. >> it is. it is damaging my personal relationships. it has created some tension and marital spats but i thought the reaction -- look. i thought liberals were supposed to be open minds. i thought they were were to be open minded, to say everyone in america has a right to an opinion, but it is really about i love free speech as long as it is free speech that i want. >> you say of liberals that 90% are every bit as nasty and vitriolic as the conservatives. sounds like you have been surprised at the intensity of heat you've gotten from journalists and others on the left side of the spectrum. >> i have, and i stick to that statement. liberals have this sense of themselves, but 90% are as nasty and vitriolic and vicious as

conservatives say, nasty people are saying i'm not going to read your books. they say go f yourself, you're a baby killer, you're a traitor, a scum, on and on and on. and if you read the column, it was anguish. it was a one shot deal. it is an emotional decision based on performance by obama in the debate that said to me he's flat, he's aloof, he doesn't really want to be president. i'm not the only one. look at the bounce he got in the polls. he got a 12 point bounce from pew. >> were you on twitter swinging at the critics, dropping f bombs. why did you take such an aggressive stance responding to some of the critics? >> because i've been on twitter since day one, taken aggressive stance about everything. >> that's an understatement. >> whether it is right or wrong, because my vernacular uses the word f bomb too much.

i have been [bleep]ed on the radio show probably a dozen times because it slips out. i have always been aggressive. i don't like taking crap and don't like taking abuse when i feel it is misplaced. i am not a low information voter. i know the pitfalls of romney, know the strengths of obama. i said in the column he is a principled man, maybe too much, has a problem crossing the aisle. the country is in malaise and needs to be jump started. the fact romney is moving to the center i would think people think is a good thing. >> got to go. >> bill clinton was famous for it. >> you triggered quite a debate. thank you for getting through the segment without us having to bleep you. mitt romney prompts apology and take of sheer salesmanship.

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time now for the media monitor, our weekly look at the hits and errors in the news business. the author of a barack obama

biography reports he won a debate in his hawaii high school. by his own account didn't take it seriously. the reason the president faired poorly against mitt romney he writes in this morning's "the washington post" his strength navigating different cultures is also his weakness, a tendency to avoid confrontation. he makes the point by drawing on history. it was a funny picture, no question about it, but was it fair? the ap photo at a romney campaign event captured the amazed look on a school girl's face and prompted a tongue lashing from bill o'reilly. >> here is the photo the associated press took at the meet and greet, a foolish shot that makes romney the butt of stupid jokes, pardon the pun. picture taken by photographer evan vucci, never should have been published. >> ap apologized saying the generic caption didn't say what was going on. some photos need more explanation, fell short of our own standards by not providing it in this case.

reminiscent of this reuters photo of president obama awhile back which also generated some snickers. i said last week good morning america shouldn't feature ann romney as co-host because she's not a journalist. she never sat at the anchor desk and mostly did things like this. >> hey, i've got a cooking emergency! the grill is too hot. but i'm here. i'm making welsh cakes. my grandmother taught me how to make them. >> ann mney was fine when it came to cooking, talking of her love for horses, but no discussion of politics. the co-host title it seems was a promotional gimmick. the old adage the show mug on, this was ridiculous. on the qvc host was chatting about a computer with his co-host, when suddenly, well, take a look. >> what's so great about this, kids love tablets, love playing with tablets, love the games,

they love the educational games. but mom and dad want them to be safe. they want them to do, you know, everything on it, but you know. >> you okay? >> okay. what it does, it gives us an opportunity for us to be able to offer a piece of electronic equipment that is simple for children to operate. >> hughes keeps on selling the product, even though his colleague has collapsed. fortunately, it was just a fainting spell and she was all right, but how do you keep pitching when the woman standing next to you fell down. she offered a more generous interpretation on the "today" show. >> he is one of my good friends. people are envisioning him stepping over my limp body to sell the product. but in fact, i was being taken care of by two medics, three producers. i said keep going, i'm fine. >>